China has conducted its first 3-D printing experiment in space on a newly launched spacecraft, according to the China Academy of Space Technology. It said on its ‘WeChat‘ social media account earlier this month that an experiment was carried out using a 3-D printer developed and built by its Beijing Spacecrafts Manufacturing Factory, inside the prototype of China's new-generation manned spacecraft.

The printer, officially named ‘Space-based Composite Material 3-D Printing System’, uses carbon fibre-reinforced composites to autonomously print objects. It is installed in the re-entry module of the experimental spaceship and will be brought back to Earth once the module returns to the ground.

The academy said the printer features advanced technologies in material modelling, precision control and automation. It explained that once the space-based 3-D printing technology becomes operationally ready, it can extensively benefit space programmes as astronauts can use it to manufacture items they currently need to obtain from re-supply flights by cargo spacecraft.

Video clips broadcasted on China Central Television showed that the 3-D printer had manufactured a flat section of a honeycomb-shaped structure as well as an emblem of China Aerospace Science and Technology Corp, parent company of the China Academy of Space Technology.

The prototype of China's new-generation manned spacecraft was lifted into the low-Earth orbit by the maiden mission of China's Long March 5B heavy-lift carrier rocket from the Wenchang Space Launch Center in Hainan province.

The flight was intended to verify key technologies and equipment for the new-generation spaceship including the heat-resistance, control and recovery devices, and the test results will be used for further improvements, according to the China Manned Space Agency.

In September 2014, NASA sent a 3-D printer to the International Space Station. In November that year, the machine undertook the world's first in-orbit 3-D printing experiment. Since then, the organisation has been actively exploring the technology's applications and potential for space missions.